Vedanta rolls out \'Project Panchhi\' for recruiting 1000 girls

2024-11-24 11:43:56 News & Society

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New Delhi; 7th March 2023: In the week leading up to International Women\'s Day 2023, Vedanta Ltd. announced the launch of its pathbreaking talent acquisition program ? Project Panchhi ? for recruiting 1000 girls from its communities across the country.

The objective of the programme is two-fold ?

To recruit young women from remote areas, in the operational areas of the company\'s metals, mining and oil & gas businesses in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Goa, etc.
To increase the diversity in its workforce by specifically focusing on the recruitment of girls, who are underrepresented in the metals, mining & heavy engineering industries.

What is unique about Project Panchhi is that this programme aims to recruit girls from marginalised communities. Many of these girls are first-generation learners who aspire for further study to have professional careers. Vedanta is undertaking a selection process to identify the right candidates based on various criteria and will support their higher education in leading institutions. After graduation, these girls will join Vedanta\'s operations as graduate trainees.

This programme is inaugurated at Vedanta\'s Alumina Refinery operations at Lanjigarh (Kalahandi, Odisha) where in the first phase, 40 girls have been identified.

Speaking about Project Panchhi, Vedanta\'s Chairman, Mr. Anil Agarwal, said, \"I strongly believe that Project Panchhi will give young girls wings to soar. It will enable girls from remote parts of the country to pursue higher education, learn skills and financially empower themselves. Vedanta\'s motto \'Transforming for Good\' embodies our mission to bring positive change in the lives of our communities. I proudly look forward to seeing these girls succeed and emerge as tall leaders in our organization.\"

Ms. Madhu Srivastava, Group CHRO, Vedanta Ltd., added, \"Project Panchhi is a unique initiative towards an inclusive development of our communities and in line with our overall vision for diversity, equity and inclusion. We are confident that these upskilled young girls would emerge as leaders and become shining examples for others in their communities, states and country at large\".

Vedanta\'s Lanjigarh operations, the site of the first roll-out of this project, houses a world-class 2 MTPA alumina refinery, which feeds the company\'s state-of-the-art aluminium smelters at Jharsuguda (Odisha) and BALCO (Chhattisgarh). The refinery is currently undergoing expansion to 5 MTPA and will deploy significant manpower. This offers immense opportunities for the recruits to get a hands-on learning experience. It will also serve as an inspiration for thousands of other girls and women across India to aspire for a career in the manufacturing industry.

Chakri Majhi, father of Suriyakanti Majhi, one of the girls selected under this program shared his thought on the initiative saying, \"Vedanta has come up with this wonderful initiative. It gives me immense happiness to see that the company is taking a step towards giving our young girls the opportunity to pursue higher studies. I am delighted to see my daughter get selected as part of the program. Vedanta has contributed immensely to the growth of our communities and the Kalahandi district. This initiative will not only help our daughters grow personally and professionally which will go a long way in helping better our quality of life\".

About Vedanta Limited:

Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world\'s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta\'s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company\'s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta\'s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

About Vedanta Aluminium Business:

Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India\'s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India\'s aluminium i.e., 2.27 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2022 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the \'Metal of the Future\' for a greener tomorrow.